| Summary: | Initially in favour of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) and strongly opposed to orthodox medicine, Léa Simon entered medical school with reluctance then pursued private training to qualify in acupuncture before becoming a specialist in a teaching hospital. This atypical case draws our attention to the crucial role of medical studies and raises the issue of Dr Simon’s engagement in medicine despite her exclusive interest in CAM. Studying a single case allows for a deep analysis of two central processes behind an individual trajectory: professional self-fulfillment and the means for legitimating CAM. Using the methods of life narrative and action regimes, we reveal an itinerary composed of two regimes of engagement: the contradictory regime of medical studies and the coherent regime of the beginning of a professional career (first militant then adaptive). An analysis of Dr Simon’s system of values reveals the coexistence of humanist, pragmatic and ideological values. It also underlines the importance of the acupuncture medical identity she eventually found and the importance of care in this construction.
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